Seahawks offensive weapons their best ever?

The Seattle Seahawks have been know for their defense in recent years, but appear to be on the verge of putting together one of the league’s most explosive offenses as well.

The perception change began last year, during the Seahawks 39-30 win over Pittsburgh on November 29th. Seattle matched the Steelers vaunted offense blow for blow before delivering the knockout punch, an 80 yard TD from Russell Wilson to Doug Baldwin on a crucial 3rd and 10 with 2:01 left in the game.

From that point on, the Wilson-led offense caught fire, topping 30 points in five of their last six games. With Marshawn Lynch banged up, Wilson threw more, and the Seahawks looked more like an elite offensive team than one known more for ball control and stifling defense.

And then they went out this off season and loaded up on offense even more.

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Watching the team at practice yesterday, it was more obvious than ever that GM John Schneider has done a masterful job of surrounding his still-young franchise QB with an outstanding collection of skill position talent. It may simply be the deepest and most diverse collection of dynamic players the Hawks have ever assembled.

Consider this stockpile of riches:

• Wilson, the man at the helm. He’s established himself as an elite quarterback and appears to still be improving as a passer.
• The WR group is the best it’s been in decades. Led by Doug Baldwin, rookie sensation Tyler Lockett and the underrated Jermaine Kearse. And if you didn’t know anything about this team, you’d think Paul Richardson might be the best player in that group. The 2014 2nd round draft pick appears explosive and ready for a breakout year after battling injuries the last two seasons.
• The running back room is full of young, versatile players in Thomas Rawls, the revitalized Christine Michael, and rookies Alex Collins, Zac Brooks and C.J. Prosise. Prosise is battling a hamstring issue, but watching him work yesterday gave you a look at just how important he could be to this team. He worked extensively on a side field with Wilson and TE’s Luke Willson and Jimmy Graham on 3rd down packages, which included a number of combo routes. The former WR also was also often split out wide in 4 WR sets during the teams’ red zone session. He could be a dangerous weapon when he gets healthy.
• Those tight ends. Third round draft pick Nick Vannett would start on many teams, but with Luke Willson and import Brandon Williams around, he just adds to the depth that many organizations would envy.

And then there’s Graham. He still isn’t participating in full team reps, but watching him work on the side yesterday you would never guess he’s just 8 months removed from a serious knee injury. He looked fast, even moreso than last year when he was carrying an extra 15 pounds, and wasn’t wearing a brace. It appears the team will use him more like the Saints did, as a glorified WR. Their attempts to make him more of an in-line, blocking TE last year was out of necessity, but with Vannett and Williams coming on board that’s not needed.

Based on what I saw yesterday, it’s appropriate to get excited, extremely excited, about what Graham can add to this offense.

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So it’s easy to see why the Seahawks are getting so much buzz as a contender to return to the Super Bowl. For as good as the defense looks again, it’s this offensive group that gives the team a much different look, and poses a veritable nightmare for opposing coaches in 2016.